John Gormley

We managed to get in a substantial submission on the EIS for the Poolbeg incinerator today - ‘we’ because a lot of credit has to go to my assistant, Ryan Meade, who spent a considerable amount of time and energy on it. You can read it below.

It’s been a busy day between the submission and continuing fallout from the Bertie issue. Trevor’s going on Questions and Answers this evening and Eamon Ryan and I had a briefing session with him this afternoon to prepare him. Bertie could survive tomorrow but, realistically, for how long? I remember when Ray Burke came before the Dáil and gave a ‘full account’ of his activities. Afterwards he claimed a line had been drawn in the sand, and Mary Harney even expressed her full confidence in him. Well, we know what happened there. Bertie has been damaged undoubtedly, but the real losers are the PDs. Far from keeping an eye on the lads, they have become indistinguishable from them.

I hope that at the very least there will be renewed focus now on the way politics is funded in this country. Parties are still under an obligation to big business and wealthy individuals who sponsor parties and candidates. ‘No favours sought or given’ has become a meaningless cliché. The Green Party proposes putting stricter limits on donations, banning corporate donations, limiting spending between and at elections, having a register of lobbyists.

Today was the deadline for submissions to An Bord Pleanála on the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg. My submission was handed in together with two volumes of supporting documents. Click here to read the full submission in Rich Text Format (RTF).

I’m told that more than 3,000 people have objected to the proposed incinerator. Let’s hope that a combination of people power and unanswerable arguments against the incinerator will win out in the end.

An extract from the introduction to my submission is included below: (more…)

Last night’s public meeting on the proposed incinerator in Poolbeg was well-attended and the response to the speakers was very positive. For those who couldn’t make it along, we will post a summary of the speakers’ contributions here soon.

In the meantime, a number of people have requested headings they can use for writing a letter of objection to An Bord Pleanála. The information below should help you put together a letter to state your objections to this proposal.

Deadline: The deadline is Monday 2nd October at 5.30pm.

There is no set format for submissions, but you must include

• Your name and address
• The planning reference: EF 2022

The following are some of the grounds under which you can make objections:

Impact on your health and your family’s health - due to emissions from the incinerator and the trucks bringing waste to the incinerator.

Loss of visual and natural amenity - the incinerator will be a massive structure, the length of Croke Park and the height of Liberty Hall.

Nuisance from pollution and increased traffic during the construction and operation phases.

Impact on heritage

Impact on wildlife in the nature park, Dublin Bay and the river Liffey. Note that the incinerator will be built next to an EU-designated Special Protection Area for rare and vulnerable birds.

Impact of trucks on traffic movements in the area - note that the site for the incinerator was originally selected in 1999 on the basis that the Eastern Bypass would be in place.

Cumulative impact of locating incinerator next to other polluting industrial uses.

Green Party Chairman and TD for Dublin South East John Gormley will join anti-incineration campaigners in protest against Environment Minister Dick Roche’s attendance at a pro-incineration conference in Dublin at 12.30pm today. Minister Roche will deliver the keynote address at the conference, titled ‘Energy from Waste in Ireland’, which is taking place at the Radisson Hotel in Stillorgan.

“The Minister’s attendance is yet another demonstration of the enthusiasm with which this Government promotes incineration over more sustainable waste management solutions,” said Deputy Gormley. “In Dublin South East, Minister Michael McDowell is still trying to tell us that the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg is not part of Government policy. Minister Roche’s speech today once again demonstrates the opposite.

“This is a gathering of many of the key promoters of incineration in Ireland. In that context the Minister’s presence is entirely appropriate.

“The title of this conference is particularly telling – Energy from Waste in Ireland – assessing the best use of a reliable resource. The incineration sector know that they can rely on ever increasing volumes of waste for as long as this government is in power and refuses to seriously address waste prevention and minimisation. They also have a ‘reliable resource’ in the Minister, who can be called upon to energetically support their cause at every opportunity,” concluded Mr Gormley.

The deadline for public submissions to An Bord Pleanála on the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg is Monday 2 October 2006 . The Green Party will hold a public meeting on the topic of opposing the incinerator through the planning process on Thursday, 21 September 2006 at 8pm in Clanna Gael Fontenoy clubhouse, Sean Moore Park.

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche TD will speak at a conference entitled “Energy from Waste in Ireland – Assessing the best use of a reliable resource” on Tuesday 19th September. CRAI (Combined Residents Against Incineration) has called for a protest against this pro-incineration event, at the Raddison Hotel Stillorgan at 12.30pm. The Green Party in Dublin South East will be supporting this protest, and urge you to come along if possible.

Clanna Gael Fontenoy clubhouse, Sean Moore Park

October 2nd is the deadline for submissions to An Bord Pleanála on the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg. The Dublin South East Green Party has arranged this meeting to assist residents who wish to submit objections. We have lined up a number of speakers to make contributions on various aspects of the planning process and the incinerator proposal, and there will be an open forum for residents and campaigners to discuss the best approaches to fighting the incinerator through the planning process.

If you have not already prepared an objection, we hope this meeting will provide useful ideas. If you have already made a submission, please come along and share your views with the meeting.

Although the incinerator is definitely a political issue, we are hoping that this meeting will focus on the practical aspects of fighting the proposed incinerator.

Speakers:

Dr Anthony Staines, School of Public Health, UCD
Dr Staines is an epidemiologist and senior lecturer in the School of Public Health, UCD. He is the co-author of the baseline health status assessment for Ringsend, and featured on the recent RTÉ Prime Time report on incineration.

Nick Loughnan, CHASE, anti-incinerator campaign in Cork
Nick Loughnan is a member of the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE), a campaign group which has been opposing the building of two incinerators at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour.

Joe McCarthy
Joe McCarthy is an independent IT expert who was instrumental in exposing the problems with the Government’s electronic voting system. He has also used Freedom of Information requests to research the proposed incinerator. This research was the subject of a recent editorial in the Irish Independent.

Frances Corr, CRAI
Frances Corr represents Combined Residents Against Incineration (CRAI), the campaign group opposing the incinerator at Poolbeg.

Chair: John Gormley TD

Following my appeal to An Bord Pleanála against the decision to grant permission for a major development on the South Bank Road, Dublin 4, I made a further submission today on additional information provided by the applicant and Dublin City Council. You can read my brief submission here: Fabrizia Planning Appeal further information

For background on this issue, please see the following related articles from May 2006:
Permission granted for major development at South Bank Road
Fabrizia development: Appeal to An Bord Pleanála

Green Party Chairman and TD for Dublin South East John Gormley has criticised An Bord Pleanála for refusing requests for an oral hearing into a massive proposed development on the Poolbeg peninsula, next to Sean Moore Park in Ringsend. Deputy Gormley joined with a large number of local residents in appealing the decision of Dublin City Council to grant permission for 16 blocks of 783 apartments, as well as office and retail space. (more…)

Now that Dublin City Council has applied for permission to build a waste incinerator at Poolbeg, residents may be wondering what they can do to help defeat the proposal. I include below some details on making submissions to An Bord Pleanála and the Environmental Protection Agency. My office has confirmed today that the EPA received Dublin City Council’s licence application yesterday, July 10th. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries, or if you would like to be kept informed on this issue. (more…)

Dublin City Council has posted some drawings and photomontages of the proposed incinerator on the project web site: see here for more.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the incinerator will be 200m in length - as long as Croke Park. It will also be 55m in height - almost as tall as Liberty Hall. This is the height of the building, not the chimney stacks, which will be 100m in height. For comparison, the Spire is 120m high.